The bowel is the common name for the large intestine which comprises the colon, rectum and anus. The colon is a muscular tube and, together with the small intestine, it forms the major part of the digestive system. It carries out a number of functions including the completion of the digestive process involving absorption of water soluble nutrients and the 'synthesis' of certain vitamins. The colon is responsible for elimination of food and other body wastes, as well as protecting us from infection and disease. In a healthy colon, all this is achieved with the help of billions of friendly bacteria which inhabit the colon. However, the delicate balance of the colon can be disturbed by a number of factors including stress, pollution, certain drugs, smoking, to name but a few. Many practitioners now believe that keeping the colon healthy is crucial to our overall health and vitality.

A healthy colon relies on 5 things
Good Eliminations To keep the bowels healthy, it is important to make sure waste material moves steadily and completely through the colon and is eliminated regularly. If digested waste is held up in the colon, it starts to putrefy causing a build up of the hostile flora. Equally, the waste material shouldn't move too fast, or the friendly flora won't grow either, and vital minerals will be eliminated.

Good diet
A good, balanced diet, with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables can help encourage the efficient elimination of waste matter.

Plenty of water
Water cleanses the system. Drinking 8 to 10 glasses of water per day is recommended, but many of us fail to reach this level.

Relaxation
Trying to allow time for relaxation can be very important to good digestion. Stress can hinder proper digestion and throw it out of balance. One way to keep relaxed and help the digestive system is to take regular exercise.

Healthy bacteria
The long term health of the intestine is dependent on keeping a favourable balance of healthy bacteria over unhealthy bacteria. This can be hampered by the over-use of antibiotics which kill-off unwanted bacteria and infection in the body. However, they also kill-off good bacteria in the intestine, which can let the unhealthy bacteria get the upper hand.